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What makes a good dj..great?

The answer to the original question is: He's entertaining, appreciates his listeners, and is REAL. THAT's what makes a great jock. If there are any left, please give me their names because I'd like to support them.
 
I just got done reading a book called creating Powerful Radio by Valerie Gellar. It had some good tips although the book might be a little dated because it was written in the late 80's early 90's. I went through the book and highlighted some key points and then typed it out for a quick reference. I think it helps with this topic so Ill just copy and paste it for you guys thoughts and what not. Alot of it might is pretty basic common sense stuff but either way I am sure there are some people that don't know about this...

Some TIPS on how to create POWERful Radio..

1.Radio is very, very personal it should feel like it's just me and the person on the other end of the radio.
2.Before anything goes out on the air ask yourself: Is it Relevant ? Does it matter? Do you care? Do your listeners care ?

*The key to personality radio is having a personality. This means having a rich, full life, drawing on all of your life experiences.
The best broadcasters are great observers of life. They filter what they see going on around them through their unique creative
process, and give it back out over the airwaves. If an on air personality is doing the job right, the audience will feel that he or she is talking to
one-on-one. Humor helps, but you don't have to be a funny person to recognize a funny moment and run with it, the way you might with a friend.
This is a key element in creating POWERful radio.


3.Speak in terms your listener can "picture" Use details. Describe the little things so your audience can "see" what you are talking about,
theater of the mind. Go from black and white into color. Take them "there."
4.Tell the truth, listeners can tell when you're not.
5.Never be boring. If you are, your audience will be too.
6.Make your program matter. Use your own life as a show resource.
7.If you are live on-air, anything goes! But anything on tape should be perfect. NO excuses.
8.Brag about other people's stuff. If another host on your station had a "magic moment," talk about that too.
9.Be who you are on the radio.
10.Risk. Try things. Dare to be GREAT!
11.Be a popular culture junkie, nut not just TV and MOVIES. It means noticing dress, road signs, vending machines, faces,
accents, window tinting, house plants, snippets of conversations, drool, etc. RECORD all of it.
12.Listen to one air-check a month maximum. Listening to too many airchecks will only depress you as you nit-pick every little thing.
If you hit a home run on the air, you'll feel it.
13.EVERYTHING IS MATERIAL!
14.Entertain informatively, inform entertainingly
15.Be specific. Name names, your wife's name, your boss' name, your friend's names, etc. That's what makes it real, thus scary, thus interesting
16.If you think its important or funny say it. Don't be scared or second guess yourself.
17.Dont feel the need to be funny every break. Forced humor often sounds that way.
18.Always keep in mind that first eight letters of the word "personality": PERSONAL. Wheteher one million listeners or 100,each one should feel the conversation is being directed to them.
19.In a music format always remember the music is the star.
Remeber, it's important to:
1. Prepare.
2. Read everything
3. Make it matter
4. Have things to say.
5. Be real.
6. Have fun.



THESE COULD BE THE LAST DAYS OF LOCALLY PROGRAMMED, NON-SATELLITE RADIO. USE THE STATION YOU NOW HAVE TO DO GREAT LOCAL RADIO THAT ENTERTAINS OR TOUCHES THE LISTENERS WITH EVERY BREAK.



Adrian
 
ahummel83 said:
I just got done reading a book called creating Powerful Radio by Valerie Gellar. It had some good tips although the book might be a little dated because it was written in the late 80's early 90's. I went through the book and highlighted some key points and then typed it out for a quick reference. I think it helps with this topic so Ill just copy and paste it for you guys thoughts and what not. Alot of it might is pretty basic common sense stuff but either way I am sure there are some people that don't know about this...

Some TIPS on how to create POWERful Radio..

1.Radio is very, very personal it should feel like it's just me and the person on the other end of the radio.
2.Before anything goes out on the air ask yourself: Is it Relevant ? Does it matter? Do you care? Do your listeners care ?

*The key to personality radio is having a personality. This means having a rich, full life, drawing on all of your life experiences.
The best broadcasters are great observers of life. They filter what they see going on around them through their unique creative
process, and give it back out over the airwaves. If an on air personality is doing the job right, the audience will feel that he or she is talking to
one-on-one. Humor helps, but you don't have to be a funny person to recognize a funny moment and run with it, the way you might with a friend.
This is a key element in creating POWERful radio.


3.Speak in terms your listener can "picture" Use details. Describe the little things so your audience can "see" what you are talking about,
theater of the mind. Go from black and white into color. Take them "there."
4.Tell the truth, listeners can tell when you're not.
5.Never be boring. If you are, your audience will be too.
6.Make your program matter. Use your own life as a show resource.
7.If you are live on-air, anything goes! But anything on tape should be perfect. NO excuses.
8.Brag about other people's stuff. If another host on your station had a "magic moment," talk about that too.
9.Be who you are on the radio.
10.Risk. Try things. Dare to be GREAT!
11.Be a popular culture junkie, nut not just TV and MOVIES. It means noticing dress, road signs, vending machines, faces,
accents, window tinting, house plants, snippets of conversations, drool, etc. RECORD all of it.
12.Listen to one air-check a month maximum. Listening to too many airchecks will only depress you as you nit-pick every little thing.
If you hit a home run on the air, you'll feel it.
13.EVERYTHING IS MATERIAL!
14.Entertain informatively, inform entertainingly
15.Be specific. Name names, your wife's name, your boss' name, your friend's names, etc. That's what makes it real, thus scary, thus interesting
16.If you think its important or funny say it. Don't be scared or second guess yourself.
17.Dont feel the need to be funny every break. Forced humor often sounds that way.
18.Always keep in mind that first eight letters of the word "personality": PERSONAL. Wheteher one million listeners or 100,each one should feel the conversation is being directed to them.
19.In a music format always remember the music is the star.
Remeber, it's important to:
1. Prepare.
2. Read everything
3. Make it matter
4. Have things to say.
5. Be real.
6. Have fun.



THESE COULD BE THE LAST DAYS OF LOCALLY PROGRAMMED, NON-SATELLITE RADIO. USE THE STATION YOU NOW HAVE TO DO GREAT LOCAL RADIO THAT ENTERTAINS OR TOUCHES THE LISTENERS WITH EVERY BREAK.



Adrian
Click to expand...

Great post!! Too bad the radio giants only bother with rule #19..
 
Regarding rule #16. Be really, REEEAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY careful with that one. You never know when one crazy listener misinterperets humor for dire seriousness and fires off a nasty complaint letter.
 
ButtnPushr said:
ahummel83 said:
I just got done reading a book called creating Powerful Radio by Valerie Gellar. It had some good tips although the book might be a little dated because it was written in the late 80's early 90's. I went through the book and highlighted some key points and then typed it out for a quick reference. I think it helps with this topic so Ill just copy and paste it for you guys thoughts and what not. Alot of it might is pretty basic common sense stuff but either way I am sure there are some people that don't know about this...

Some TIPS on how to create POWERful Radio..

19.In a music format always remember the music is the star.
Click to expand...

Great post!! Too bad the radio giants only bother with rule #19..
Click to expand...

I disagree.... completely....The Radio Behemoths, ignore Rule # 19 alltogether.

The "star" is the personality that they try to sell.

The music is just a backdrop for the personality, the contests, the antics, and, the propmotions.

Just a backdrop.

That's what the Behemoths think (they don't think) about Music !!
 
true Ill agree with the music being second with some stations
 
A good DJ goes through the motions with his/her listeners be it in person or on the phone.

A great DJ realizes the listeners are his customers and, without customers, he/she has no job.

dr
 
"Make your program matter. Use your own life as a show resource."

My life is boring, does this mean I should still talk about how my cat did something funny last night?

In all seriousness, I just started as a DJ not too long ago and I am having a hard time figuring out how to use my life as anything worth talking about.
 
As a DJ from the 1960's,I would say go out and "LIVE LIFE",it will make you a more informed person and that in return will transfer to your show...
 
Just being yourself...thats the most important thing. Be real with your audience and dont play a character, nothing puts off people these days than a line reader.
 
So lets say you got 20 times to talk on your shift and you find somethin intresting you want to talk about. Do you repeat it twice during your shift or say it just once.
 
well I think that depends on the format and your time clock.

like for me and the format I am with I have a few short breaks and then a longer one..so I might tease it in the shorter breaks then talk a lil more about it in the longer break but not carry it more then that...

and I would say that all of what I mentioned beforehand is in a 15 min timeframe..

Adrian
 
Texaz said:
So lets say you got 20 times to talk on your shift and you find somethin intresting you want to talk about. Do you repeat it twice during your shift or say it just once.
Click to expand...

If your good you can talk about it in more then stop set and not bore the listener.
 
A good DJ knows when to hold them, and when to fold them.

A "great" DJ knows when to walk away, and when to run.

A bad DJ counts his money while he's sitting at the table....

OK OK... [/Kenny Rogers mode]
 
Slambang nailed it I think.

Imo, A great DJ is anything but the status quo corporate America radio MC, whom more often than not is lamely and misnomerly(is that a word?) declared a DJ. That said, very few MCs are even worth the title, especially on American airwaves. BBC Radio 1 could teach us a lot about what a great DJ is. I'd rather just hear the tunes to be honest. No more clichéd witty jokes about song titles/lyrics or faux excitement please! Ughhhggg!!!
 
  • henderson_s454 said:
    I may be drawing straws here, but this is my take:

    • A good DJ knows he has an obligation to himself and his listeners to do the right thing by them.
    • A good DJ chooses to behave like a moral citizen and makes sure he treats ALL listeners with respect.
    • A good DJ KNOWS that treating women like sexual objects is NOT a good idea!
    • A good DJ DOESN'T beat his fiancee, go to jail, and return to the airwaves UNTIL the situation has been resolved to the satisfaction of his region's officials
    • A good DJ chooses to be a MAN and RESIGN when the situation like the one I'm describing here has not been resolved amicably, NO MATTER WHAT!

    Now, here's some stuff for a good program manager:

    • A good PD KNOWS his/her obligations to his/her station's listeners to do the right thing
    • A good PD understands that doing the right thing will not be popular with the majority of listeners, but will do the right thing anyway
    • A good PD chooses to put ratings and revenue aside in order to do the right thing
    • A good PD understands how much flak he/she will get from domestic violence prevention groups if he/she chooses not to FIRE someone like the bad DJ described here
    • A good PD chooses to cater to the domestic violence prevention groups as opposed to the listeners while DOING the right thing

    To summarize:
    • A good DJ ISN'T Russ Martin
    • A good PD ISN'T Gavin Spittle
    • And a good radio station REPLACES these two morons with people who understand what it MEANS to do the right thing by Christ

    But enough about the lack of morals in Dallas-Fort Worth radio... or radio anywhere in the country...
    Click to expand...

What world do you live in?
 
radio_insider said:
  • henderson_s454 said:
    I may be drawing straws here, but this is my take:

    • A good DJ knows he has an obligation to himself and his listeners to do the right thing by them.
    • A good DJ chooses to behave like a moral citizen and makes sure he treats ALL listeners with respect.
    • A good DJ KNOWS that treating women like sexual objects is NOT a good idea!
    • A good DJ DOESN'T beat his fiancee, go to jail, and return to the airwaves UNTIL the situation has been resolved to the satisfaction of his region's officials
    • A good DJ chooses to be a MAN and RESIGN when the situation like the one I'm describing here has not been resolved amicably, NO MATTER WHAT!

    Now, here's some stuff for a good program manager:

    • A good PD KNOWS his/her obligations to his/her station's listeners to do the right thing
    • A good PD understands that doing the right thing will not be popular with the majority of listeners, but will do the right thing anyway
    • A good PD chooses to put ratings and revenue aside in order to do the right thing
    • A good PD understands how much flak he/she will get from domestic violence prevention groups if he/she chooses not to FIRE someone like the bad DJ described here
    • A good PD chooses to cater to the domestic violence prevention groups as opposed to the listeners while DOING the right thing

    To summarize:
    • A good DJ ISN'T Russ Martin
    • A good PD ISN'T Gavin Spittle
    • And a good radio station REPLACES these two morons with people who understand what it MEANS to do the right thing by Christ

    But enough about the lack of morals in Dallas-Fort Worth radio... or radio anywhere in the country...
    Click to expand...

What world do you live in?
Click to expand...

Obviously not yours. ::)
 
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